Monday. Back to the grind for everybody. The kids only have three days of school left until summer vacation, though. I'm looking forward to the break, and dreading it too. The fighting between the kids is what I dread. I've got to keep us busy this summer. We can't do much running around though, not with gas prices so crazily expensive. We'll stick close to home I guess, play in the creek, take picnics, etc. The kids' cooking class that we usually go to isn't going to be going on this summer. The office that that program was through was cut, budget problems. We'll still have library story hour, anyway, I guess.

Well, we found out from the CSI people pretty much what happened. I guess this is as much as we'll ever know. There were some things I was wondering about that this explanation answered for me. For instance, I had wondered if the guy had pulled up in the driveway or what. I figured that was unlikely, because Joey wouldn't have just sat there and not seen who was at his house. Nor did he mention to Danny that someone was there. So I figured he snuck up. It turns out, his brother drove him over there, knowing what he was planning on doing. He dropped him off either down the road, or at another road that is close to Joey and Cindy's house if you go through the woods.

Apparently Cindy was out on the backporch, and he walked up around the side of the house and shot her in the side (I think the left side). This was when Danny heard Seana screaming and Joey dropped the phone to see what was going on. They think Joey was pulling Cindy in the house and trying to figure out what was going on when he was shot in the arm. He was shot in his left arm, between the hand and the elbow. His arm was just shredded, they said. This was probably the point when Joey ran back to the bedroom to get his gun, and the guy came on in the house, followed him to the bedroom and shot him in the back. Joey had his hand on his gun when he was found. He was so close. Evidently after that, he went back to the kitchen and shot Cindy in the head. I don't know when Seana ran out of the house, probably after Joey was shot, because up to that point he didn't even know what was happening. So either he or Cindy probably told Seana to run right after Joey got shot in the arm. Also, at some point, the guy turned the television up extremely loud. Which doesn't make a lot of sense, since he had already shot outside of the house. No one heard anything anyway, which is a little odd. Shotguns are not quiet.

And here's a bit of irony for you. Joey and Cindy used to have this big, mean dog. It wasn't mean to them, of course, but it was a scary looking dog with a mean sounding bark. Anytime we went over there, Joey or Cindy would have to come out and stand on the porch so the dog would leave you alone. A little while back, probably a month or less, there was a boy walking down the street in front of their house and the dog started running after him and barking. Cindy said the dog wouldn't listen to her to come back or anything. They were afraid it was going to end up hurting someone so they got rid of it. Of course, you can't say with any certainty how things might have been different, but I am positive there is no way that guy could have snuck up on them if that dog had still been there. That doesn't mean the outcome would have been any different, but there's a good chance it might have. And of course there are 50 million other 'what ifs'.

Oh, they picked up the guy's brother. He was arrested as an accessory. So if the guy pleads not guilty, they'll likely have his brother testify against him in exchange for a lighter sentence. His preliminary hearing is tomorrow, so we'll see what happens then. I wish he'd just plead guilty, it'd save a lot of time and money, not to mention the heartache to the families that a trial would put them through.

It's been eerie here this morning. I think this is the first day Shelby and I have been here alone since it happened, and I have to admit I'm a little scared. I've got all the doors locked (which I always do anyway - so Shelby can't sneak out), and I haven't opened any curtains or blinds and I usually do that first thing in the morning. The rational part of me knows that he's in jail and heck, we didn't even know him or him know us. But part of me is still scared. If something like that could happen here, and to close friends of mine, well, is anyone really safe? God, the phone just rang and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I hope this passes soon. I guess I should stop thinking about it, I'm getting myself more worked up. But then again, I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened. I'm scared to go to bed by myself anymore. I have to reach in and turn on a light before I go into a room at night.